Decrying the Assam Rifles' recent legal notice against RPI (Athawale) national secretary Maheshwar Thounaojam, several women staged sit-ins in various pockets across the valley on Monday.
Women of Keishamthong staged a sit-in at Keishampat Keisham Leikai Community Hall while the Meira Paibis of Samurou also staged a sit-in at Samurou Mamang Leikai.
The protesters demanded the Assam Rifles to retract their notice within three days and cautioned that a series of intense agitation would follow if the demand did not materialise.
It may be mentioned that the Assam Rifles had served a legal notice to Republican Party of India (Athawale) national secretary Thounaojam Maheshwar, demanding an apology from him for allegedly “disgracing” the country’s oldest paramilitary force.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the protest, a protestor from Sagolband Nepra Menjor L Pratima stated that the legal notice against Maheshwar was an attempt to silence his voice and stop the truth about the crisis from coming out.
“Authorities have been unable to resolve the issue even after nearly four months. At this juncture the people of Manipur support Maheshwar’s attempt to draw the attention of the world to the truth about the crisis in the state,” she said.
Meanwhile, a protestor at Samurou Mamang Leikai asserted that Maheshwar was drawing the attention of the nation by voicing the sufferings of people on the ground.
“Slapping a legal notice for voicing the suffering of victims is unfounded and an attempt to silence the voice of the people,” she said.
She cautioned that a series of intense agitations would be taken up if the Assam Rifles failed to withdraw their legal notice within three days.
At both the protests, people held placards demanding the withdrawal of the legal notice and condemning the unfounded move of the Assam Rifles.
